'Disease X' is a preparedness scenario, not a real disease planned by WEF
“Disease X” is a pandemic preparedness scenario to better prepare communities for future diseases
(Reuters) - “Disease X” is a pandemic preparedness scenario to better prepare communities for future major disease outbreaks, not a real disease the World Economic Forum (WEF) is planning to release, as suggested in social media posts.
A Facebook post, opens new tab says: “Tomorrow the 17th of January the WEF will be discussing the yet to be released disease x in their annual planning session at Davos.”
It includes a screenshot of a WEF event, opens new tab scheduled for Jan. 17, 2024 titled, “Preparing for Disease X.” This year’s annual meeting, opens new tab at Davos took place between January 15 and 19.
A recording of the session, opens new tab shows that the discussion was about preparing for a future, hypothetical epidemic, not the planned release of a disease.
Disease X was explained as early as 2018, opens new tab in an article by the WEF, saying that the World Health Organization (WHO), opens new tab was including “Disease X” in its plans to cope with future epidemics and that “X” referred to “unexpected.”
In 2018, the WHO added “Disease X”, opens new tab to a list of priority diseases, saying, “Disease X represents the knowledge that a serious international epidemic could be caused by a pathogen currently unknown to cause human disease.”
“The World Health Organization conducts research on ‘Disease X’, a scenario in which a serious international epidemic could be caused by a pathogen currently unknown,” Yann Zopf, a representative for WEF, said in an email.
Reuters has previously, opens new tab addressed, opens new tab similar narratives about pandemic preparedness scenarios being misinterpreted. Scenarios are commonly used across various sectors, from geologists to firefighters, to be best prepared for the worst.
VERDICT
Missing context. “Disease X” refers to an unknown, hypothetical pathogen used in pandemic preparedness scenarios by WEF and WHO.
